Afterglow
by Amanda Hawthorn
Summary: His eyes dropped down to their joined hands and he opened his mouth to tell her that he had never wanted to leave her but she surged forward to cover her mouth with his, stealing the words from his lips...set after 6x06


**Disclaimer: Burn Notice still doesn't belong to me unfortunately.**

**thank you for all of your reviews, PM's and favourite story and author adds. I really do appreciate all of you for taking the time to read my stories.**

**A/N: Thank you to my wonderful friends Purdy's Pal for reading through this for me and to Jedi Skysinger and DaisyDay for making me smile every day.**

**This is especially for LeeLee. I promised to write you fluff, so here it is**

**This is set after 6x06**

_**His eyes dropped down to their joined hands and he opened his mouth to tell her that he had never wanted to leave her but she surged forward to cover her mouth with his, stealing the words from his lips**_

Afterglow

Sunshine shone through the windows and seagulls cries could be heard as they swooped over the loft, yet the couple in the bed didn't stir. Their reunion hadn't gone as either had planned; it wasn't filled with kisses and wild passion like they had both been dreaming of for months…it had been delayed, marred with the ache of loss for one of their own who had lost his life in the desire to prove he was worthy…and prove himself he did.

In the wake of his death he left a path of broken people behind him. The once close make shift family had splintered apart, tumbling like dominos to fall one by one. Grief left its mark, etching a dark swirl of sorrow around the remaining family members to leave them all in a wave of hopelessness…but despite it all, the sleeping couple had only grown so much closer.

Two weeks after Nate's death, Michael and Fiona finally had their reunion. It had happened by accident with neither of them in any particular mood to celebrate, not after Michael had another disastrous attempt to talk to his mother, one that left him feeling particularly vulnerable and utterly lost…

The second Michael walked into the loft, she knew. She could see by the look in his eyes and the paleness of his face that he was barely holding on to his sanity. Shaking her head, Fiona tried to see it from Madeline's point of view but when she opened her arms to find him willingly seeking her comfort, any sympathy she may have had for Madeline Westen melted away when the man she loved broke in her arms.

"It's okay," she whispered softly as she held him tighter, allowing him to take solace from her touch. Wrapping him tightly in her arms she pressed kisses into his hair and nuzzled her cheek against the soft strands. "She just needs time."

"How much time does she need?" he asked brokenly, his voice muffled against her shoulder. "I'm trying so hard Fi…I don't know what else she wants me to say."

Fiona closed her eyes and held him tight, squeezing him against her body as she tried to replace the memory of his mother's rejection with an emotion he could not mistake. Her eyes opened when he slid his arms around her thin waist and tugged her tighter before he lifted his head to gaze at her with eyes that were holding so much pain.

"Hey," she whispered, sliding the palm of her hand over his cheek, his eyes slipping closed with her touch.

"Nothing I do is enough," he whispered, his eyes opening again when she moved so that she could cradle his face in her hands.

"She's looking for someone to blame," she told him softly. "We always hurt the ones we love."

Her words caused Michael to draw in a sharp breath and he swallowed the lump in his throat before he lifted his hands to hers on his face and wrapped his fingers around hers.

"I hurt you…"

Fiona's eyes flared with memories but she shook them away as she turned her face to press a kiss into the centre of his palm before she met his knowing gaze.

"I hurt you too," she told him softly, her lips turning upwards into a smile. "We always managed to forgive each other."

"No…" shaking his head he pulled their joined hands away from his face and led her towards the table to sit her down into one of the chairs before he sat down beside her. "When I left you in Ireland."

"Michael—"

"No…I need to say it Fi...I've already lost too much time."

His eyes dropped down to their joined hands and he opened his mouth to tell her that he had never wanted to leave her but she surged forward to cover her mouth with his, stealing the words from his lips. When she slowly pulled away she moved back just enough to see his eyes darken with desire when she hovered over his lips.

"Card told me you wouldn't leave me," she whispered, her lips grazing his again as she tried to resist the magnetic pull that was luring her back to him. Swallowing hard she focused on his lips before she lifted her eyes back to his again and she suddenly felt every single one of her doubts fall away. "If it was your choice…you never would have left?"

"No…" he breathed, his lips touching hers again only to pull back just as quickly. "Never…"

Fiona was finding it hard to concentrate with all of the emotions this man evoked inside her. The love in his eyes unravelled her and she knew that she would be by his side forever. Moving closer she rested her hands against his knees and placed a delicate kiss over first one eye and then the other before she kissed her way over his cheek and down onto his lips.

She kissed him lightly only to pull back again to gaze into his eyes. Everything she'd longed to see in him was there for the taking. She raised her lips to his, granting him the heavenly release that they both desperately sought. Opening her mouth against his, she ran her tongue across his lips begging for entry, which he readily granted. Tongues met, brushing together as their hands adored each other with trembling fingers.

Sitting further back in his chair, Michael gave her gentle tug and pulled her towards him. Fiona willingly followed him as she straddled his thighs, sighing contently against his lips when he reached up behind her to pull her into his body. They sank closer together; both of them giving in to the magnetic pull that had kept them anchored together for so many years. His arms snaked under hers, closing around her shoulder blades and pulling her closer to him as he slanted his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss. His tongue met hers hungrily, the contact sending a shiver down his spine as his heart hammered inside his chest.

He threaded his hands through her long hair and clasped her to him, keeping her body tight against him. She made a soft whimpering sound in response, her tongue tracing his lower lip before she pulled away from him, her breathing heavy and her eyes cloudy with passion.

Within seconds their lips met again, his mouth capturing hers in silent desire that set her very soul on fire. Snatching her lips from his she gasped in a breath before she began kissing a trail of kisses down his jaw and neck. She let her exploring hands stroke a path across his chest until they hovered over the buttons of his shirt, popping then open one by one while she distracted him with kisses.

"Fiona…" he groaned; his voice no more than a whisper. "I—"

"Shhhhh," she muttered as her lips continued their journey when she sensuously worked her way back to his jaw…his cheek, until she reached his ear to place soft sensual kisses over his ear lobe, instantly feeling him shiver when she licked his skin.

Michael sighed when her mouth left his ear to trail soft kisses down his throat before she pulled away so that she could gaze down into his eyes. The smile they shared was full of love that drew them together for a succession on sweet tiny kisses until Fiona shifted backwards on his thighs and crossed her arms downwards to grab hold of the hem of her dress, pulling it up and over her head in one swift movement to throw the fabric onto the floor.

Their eyes met and held as she moved her hands over his bare chest, her palms flat against his skin. She caught his open shirt with her fingertips to push the material away from his body and over his arms granting him a rewarding kiss when he helped her free himself of it.

She gasped when Michael surged forward, his mouth attacking her throat in a string of kisses that left her breathless and completely yielding to his touch. His breath warmed her skin as he whispered a mantra of words that brought her to tears. Her fingers fumbled blindly as she pulled his head away from her throat to mesh her mouth against his, locking them in an earth-shattering kiss before moving her hands between their molten bodies to pop open the button of his pants.

His mouth left hers with a gasp as he felt her hand move lower, his muttered words of passion only encouraging her further. Closing his eyes in total submission, he helped to guide her hands, pushing his clothes away from his body only to return to his task of removing what remained of hers, his lips caressing where his touch had.

"Michael…" she gasped his name as he lifted her so that she could welcome him into her body, the familiarity of each other closing around them.

Their lips came together again, synchronising with their movements as their hips clashed along with the muttered groans and whimpered words that followed as they moved as one. They had been apart for so long, their love hidden away while they recovered from the fallout of prison and death…but this time was theirs now, their own tiny piece of a sanctuary that had been denied for so long.

The sorrow melted away to be replaced with a love that had always burned between them… even when they had been apart…but that absence was all forgotten when they continued to move together, taking each other to the brink of heaven, words of love on their lips. Fiona ripped her mouth from his and threw her head back both crying and whimpering his name when he pulled her with him, toppling them over the edge of oblivion as his love surged into her body. He wrapped his arms around her waist holding on tight as he lost control, her name spilling from his lips.

Michael leaned into her body holding onto her until her shaking began to subside. His heart ached with love for her and he knew that his feelings for her had never faded away, no matter how many times he had tried to deny it. Floating back into awareness, he heard her say his name and he instinctively tugged her closer, delighting in the sweet sensations of her warm naked body leaning into his, slick and sated.

"Michael," she whispered into his neck, her lips caressing him as she began kissing the soft flesh until her heart began to return to some kind of normality. She loved him totally and completely, even more so now that he had shown her in so many ways that he loved and needed her beside him. Words of love simmered on her tongue but she knew that there wasn't anything she could possibly say that could match how she felt.

"I know," he told her softly, as he brought her head up to his so he could see her eyes. They locked together, willingly letting themselves sink deeper into one another's gaze in the wake of passion that had just passed between them.

Lifting her carefully, he had intended to release her but neither could seem to draw away from each other, their bodies still reacting to each other even now. His hand came up to trail his fingers across her face, loving every inch of her with his touch before his lips followed where his fingers burned. Finally he caught her lips again in a loving tender kiss that left neither of them in any doubts of their love for each other.

Fiona fell into his kiss with total abandonment, willingly letting him control her senses, as he loved her, showing her with his touch that she was his. She had missed him, more than she ever had in Ireland, more than all the times when the CIA had taken him away…this time she had ached for him in a way she had never felt before.

After what seemed like hours they finally untangled themselves from each other, both reluctant to let go and lose precious contact. Fiona lifted herself off of him, standing on shaky legs as she held her hand out to him, pulling him up to stand up beside her.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, his lips trailing gentle kisses down her cheek as he clutched her hand tightly in his.

"You have to ask?" she grinned, moving her arms to loop around his neck as she languishingly stretched her body into his. They pressed together again, lingering in their intimate embrace both reluctant to part even for a moment.

"We should really get some sleep," he sighed, his mouth groaning into her neck, willing himself to draw away from her warm arms but he was finding it increasingly difficult.

"Just a little longer," she smiled as she brought her fingers to comb sensuously through his hair. "I want to stay with you."

"You _are_ with me," he chuckled as he lifted his head to look into her eyes. The second he saw her he was lost once more in the depth of love in her eyes, filling his heart with so many emotions he didn't think he would ever comprehend how he had become so lucky to have her in his life.

"I love you so much," he spoke before he could stop himself, surprised by how easily the words slipped from his lips.

The smile that graced her face almost shattered his heart, opening him up to every emotion and he was so accepting... taking everything that she offered him with open arms and an open heart.

Wordlessly she took a step backwards, moving towards the bed and taking him with her. His eyes merged with hers before they dipped lower, his gaze sparking another surge of passion throughout her body. When she tugged him down onto the bed beside her he didn't hesitate, unable to deny her anything when she took control of his body and his heart…luring him into her loving depths once more…

000

The first thing Michael became aware of was how incredibly warm he felt. For a few seconds he thought he'd woken up from a wonderful dream in which the warmth still embraced him, but slowly as he opened his eyes, he remembered where he was and whom he was with. Shifting slightly, he looked down towards the woman who was still asleep beside him. They had shifted in their sleep so that they were both on their sides and he had both of his arms wrapped possessively around her stomach while his legs spooned against hers.

A feeling of contentment washed over him and he suddenly couldn't remember anything that had felt so wonderful in his life before. Breathing deeply, her scent invaded his senses, causing him to possessively pull her closer to his body. Time had seemed to stop, enclosing them into a world of their own where nothing else existed but them. He knew that nothing would compare to the feeling of having her in his arms, safe and warm where nothing or no one could hurt her.

Fiona moved in her sleep and drew in a deep breath. Her arm slid over the warm body behind her, seeking his presence as she shuffled in closer. She mumbled something as she started to wake and pushed herself further back into his body. Slowly, as she opened her eyes, thoughts of the previous night started to seep back into her consciousness and her hand covered his, threading their fingers together.

"Mmm…Morning," he mumbled as he burrowed in closer to press his cheek against her hair. "How'd you sleep?"

Taking a deep breath, Fiona turned in his arms to face him. Blinking the tiredness from her eyes she stretched languishly against him before she snuggled into his chest.

"I slept," she told him, a soft chuckle escaping her lips when she pressed a kiss against his throat. "You're good for me…"

Her words caused his chest to rumble when he laughed, a sound that hadn't been heard from him for a very long time. He couldn't believe how this woman had managed to erase all of the pain of the last few months, making their separation fade away. She shifted against him again and lifted her head so that she could see his face, gracing him with a bright smile.

Lifting a hand, he traced the outline of her face and leaned forward to press a light kiss on her forehead before he relaxed back against the pillows to take him with her. He closed his eyes and smiled when she burrowed against him, the warmth from her body filling him with nothing but an intense feeling of contentment. Lying here with her in their bed, the outside world faded away and right at this moment he knew he would give everything up if they could just stay like this forever.

"We should really get up," she sighed, but even though she had spoken the words she didn't really mean them. She didn't want to ever leave the security of his arms, especially when these moments had become so sparse.

"In a minute," he told her with a sigh, his arms tightening around her. "There's no hurry."

"There isn't?" she asked with surprise. "I thought you wanted—"

"This is what I want," he told her softly as he loosened his arms so that he could look down into her eyes. "You and me…just us…"

"Just us?" she asked, her eyes flaring with a hope that she dared not let herself believe just yet. "For how long?"

Michael's eyes softened and he leaned forward to place a kiss onto her forehead before he pulled back agains to rest his head against hers, knowing that every word he spoke now was the complete and utter truth, now and always.

"Forever…"

The End


End file.
